Earlier in her career, she won four medals on the ISU Junior Grand Prix series, including gold at the 2013 JGP Slovakia.

[7][8] Chen originally did not plan to take any gap years or defer her education while preparing for the 2022 Winter Olympics, but decided to take a two-year leave of absence after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

[13] Chen published a memoir titled Finding the Edge: My Life on the Ice in November 2017, in which she revealed that she suffers from spondylolisthesis.

[3] On 2019 International Women's Day, she was chosen to be one of eight POWERGIRLs that serve as brand ambassadors for social fitness blogger Cassey Ho's activewear company, POPFLEX Active.

Chen began her season at the 2016 CS U.S. Classic, placing third behind Japan's Satoko Miyahara and the United States' Mariah Bell.

Her placement, combined with a seventh-place finish from teammate Ashley Wagner, qualified Team USA three spots for the 2018 Olympics and 2018 World Figure Skating Championships.

Before beginning competition in her Grand Prix series, Chen also performed a free skate at the Japan Open helping Team North America earn the bronze medal with a 6th-place finish.

[26] Chen competed in her second Grand Prix event at 2017 Skate America and placed ninth in the short program after failing to land a triple loop.

[27] She improved to eighth place after the free skating, from which teammate Ashley Wagner withdrew due to an ankle infection.

[28] At the 2018 U.S. Championships, Chen placed third in the short program and fourth in the free skate to win the overall bronze medal.

As a result, Chen was selected to represent the US at the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea and the 2018 World Championships in Milan, Italy.

Chen returned to competition after sitting out the 2018–19 season due to injury while simultaneously beginning her freshman year at Cornell University.

She opened her season at the 2019 Philadelphia Summer International, where she won the silver medal behind training teammate You Young of South Korea.

Chen then placed fourth at the 2019 CS Autumn Classic International in Oakville, Ontario, behind Rika Kihira, Evgenia Medvedeva, and Lim Eun-soo.

[38] As a result of her placement and Liu being age-ineligible for senior competition, Chen was named to the U.S. team for the 2020 Four Continents Championships.

[39] Chen earned personal bests in all three segments to achieve a seventh-place finish at 2020 Four Continents Championships, her highest ever after previously placing 12th twice.

"[40] Chen did not enroll at Cornell for her sophomore year, explaining that classes meeting only virtually meant "it wasn’t worth paying full tuition and not having the whole college experience," and instead returned to training full-time in Colorado Springs.

[49] Chen began the season at the 2021 CS Autumn Classic International, where she unexpectedly finished off the podium in fourth place, behind Cypriot Marilena Kitromilis and South Koreans You Young and Ji Seo-yeon.

"[52] At her second Grand Prix event, the 2021 Internationaux de France, she placed fifth overall after ranking fifth in both the short program and the free skate.

[53] Entering the 2022 U.S. Championships hoping to make her second Olympic team, Chen placed second in the short program, narrowly behind Mariah Bell but a few points clear of third-place Alysa Liu, who withdrew before the free skate due to a positive COVID-19 test.

Chen was second in the free skate as well despite four underrotated jumps and took the silver medal, the only senior podium placement she had not previously occupied.

She ranked fifth, four ordinals below Russian skater Kamila Valieva, as a result of which the United States dropped behind the ROC team to take the silver medal.

However following a positive doping test of Russia's gold medalist Kamila Valieva, the team members were not awarded their medals, pending an investigation.

[59] She competed again in the free skating portion of the team event, earning 131.52 points for a fourth-place finish, and winning the gold medal with the U.S.

In fall 2022, she began competing at the collegiate level in the solo dance discipline while training at the Cornell Figure Skating Club.